Last month I heard a great story about the use and impact of publicity...

Jo Poulsom, from The Community Church in Bristol, reported how the church had put out a number of leaflets advertising courses that they, and other local churches, were putting on for the community. The leaflet, a simple double-sided sheet of A4 roll-folded (like you fold a letter to put it into an envelope), was delivered in houses in the locality and left in public venues, such as libraries and cafés.

Yes, thats right - summer time is just round the corner and its time for you, your small group and your church to start thinking how to make best use of those hazy summer evenings, the good weather and all the fun of summer.

There's no better time to invest into building relationships outside the church. Here's the scoop on how you can engage your group in reaching out this summer.

It's easy to get overly busy around Christmas and miss lots of easy opportunities for the gospel. Here are 7 top tips to get you started.

1. Free Publicity for your Carol Service
Okay, we all know that the Carol Service is far and away the most seeker-friendly Christian service of the year. It's a given that you'll be inviting friends, neighbours and colleagues and, more importantly, encouraging everyone else you influence to do the same.

But did you know that you can usually get your Carol Service publicised for free by the BBC and other local news providers?

2. Advent Prayer Calendar
Use an Advent Calendar as a reminder for daily prayer for non-believing in the run up to Christmas. You can either use ready-made calendars, or else create something individual for the members of your group. As an alternative, make up some simple bookmarks with the dates on, or hand out candles to be lit daily during outreach focused prayer.